Orange and Onward: Diners, Daycare, and Dentistry

Sweater: Bar III, Macy's

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Colonel Cutie Necklace 

Sweater: Wild Fable, Target; Skirt: Dickie's, Dolls Kill

Harvest Corn Barrette Brooch

Bag: Nine West, ROSS

Tee: Modern Lux, Target

Jeans: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Coat: Celebrity Pink, Macy's Backstage

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Sweater: Express

Bracelet: Amrita Singh, Zulily; Ring: Claire's

Last Thursday, my mom came to watch Charlotte so the husband and I could go to the dentist.  I wore a colorful yet cozy outfit (it's getting cold here in Jersey) centering around an orange checkerboard sweater.  It also included my Technicolor leggings, green corduroy skirt, beloved Colonel Cutie Necklace, never-before-worn taxi bag, and last but certainly not least, silver star mules.  Because if they worked for my flu shot, then why not the dentist?

The visit was good.  No cavities for either of us, although I did see a chunk of tarter fly past my face as the hygienist was scraping.  Oh well.  Since Char Bar was born, I may have become a little lax in the flossing department, but at least I didn't lose a tooth per that old wives' tale.  

On the way home, we stopped at a diner.  We hadn't gone out, just the two of us, since September.  It was nice to talk like a couple instead of an infant care logistics team.  I had pumpkin pancakes, a choice that may or may not have been influenced by my squash-colored sweater.

I ended up wearing orange the rest of the week.  I like to think that the jolt of sartorial vitamin C gave me the extra oomph I needed to run my errands.  Just like that checkerboard sweater made it fun instead of trying to leave the house that rainy Thursday.  When the husband and my mom first saw it, they said, "Doesn't Charlotte have a pair of pants like that?"

And I said, "Why yes, yes she does."

Which meant, of course, that we had to snap this pic for posterity:     

As they say, twin it to win it.  

Because the orange doesn't fall far from the tree. 🍊🌳

Faux Fur for Real

Coat: Jou Jou, Macy's

Nutcracker: Gifted (and what a gift it was!)

Coat: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Coat: Worthington, JCPenney

Ornaments: Michaels

Coat: So, Kohl's

Shoes: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Sweater: Express

Faux fur is for real.  After all, what beats the winter blues better than synthetic fluff in cruelty-free colors?  Even if I considered the alternate title Faux Fur, My Chauffeur.  Because these coats take me wherever I want to go -- which is anywhere and everywhere as long as I'm wrapped in cozy and kitschy.  To that point, the first pic was taken two years ago at Smithville, one of the coziest -- and cutest! -- places around.

Who knows where my outerwear will take me next?  Hopefully, not the DMV.

I wasn't kidding about that chauffeur.

Animals, Etc.

Skirt: Marshalls; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's; Shoes: Chaps, Kohl's

Belts: Mom's closet; Orange bracelet: B Fabulous; Other bracelets: Mixit, JCPenney; Rhinestone fringe barrette: INC, Macy's; Jeweled bobby pins: Michaels

Flashy Fly Necklace

Top: Express

Bag: Violet Ray, Kohl's; Shoes: Wanted, Modcloth

Top: New York & Company

Top: Nine West, Kohl's; Skirt: Merona, Target

Bag: Zulily; Shoes: Anne Michelle, JCPenney

Sparkly Stripes Necklace

When the flashy fly bit the sparkly striped zebra, a beautiful rainbow appeared.  So what if I'm plugging my own jewelry and, in the process, also violent insects?  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Much like the fly on that zebra hide.   

What can I say that I haven't already said?  I've got a lot of old and new pieces going on here.  The most unexpected is probably the blue Express top.  I rarely shop there because it's expensive and has kind of a corporate cougar vibe.  But this fluttery shirred shirt made me glad I wandered in one weekend.  It's so well made and different from anything I own that I wish I would've snagged its magenta and yellow sisters.  At the clearance price, I could've.  Then again, it's hard to wriggle into, so maybe it's just as well I didn't!  

The rainbow New York & Company and coral Nine West tops are more wearer (and wallet!) friendly.  The rainbow one's so roomy that I was able to gather it at the side with a hair tie, which I love. 

So that's the etc.  Now we'll bring it back home with the animals.  Here are the Sparkly Striped Zebra and Flashy Fly again, duking it out on a (partly) fluorescent flat lay.             

It isn't often that I make neutral-colored jewelry, so when I do, I want it to be Vegas-glitzy.  The Flamingo would've wanted it that way.   

And now I'll have to try my luck at finding a flamingo to wrangle into a necklace.

When the Hair Claws Come Out

Sweater: Express; Jeans Princess Vera, Kohl's; Coat: The North Face, Sports Authority

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill

Skirt: Wild Fable, Dolls Kill; Tights: Isadora, Zulily; Boots Penny Loves Kenny, Amazon

Top: Bar III, Macy's

Bag: Apt. 9, Kohl's; Zigzag bangle: Strawbridge & Clothier; Chartreuse bangle: Mixit, JCPenney; Maroon bangle: Iris Apfel for INC, Macy's; Striped bangle: Target; Brown ring: Charlotte Russe; Chartreuse ring: Claire's

Hair clips: Wild Fable, Target

Mystery Necklace Number One; Neon necklace: Carole, JCPenney

Jeans: Mudd, Kohl's; Boots: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon; Yellow bangle: Silver Linings, Ocean City; Green and orange bangles: B Fabulous; Blue bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Rings: Seahorse Designs, Etsy

Clip: SHEIN

Plenty of Pineapples Necklace, Mystery Necklace Number Two

Next to the scrunchie, no hair accessory had a grip on the late '80s and early '90s quite like the hair clip or claw.  Once confined to the realm of hair salons, these fantastic plastic pretties topped the heavily hairsprayed tresses of trendy teens the world over.  (Well, maybe not the world over.  It would be tough to rock such an obtrusive ornament under a ski cap in Antarctica.)  And in recent years, they've made a comeback, allowing us to look, once again, like we're on the verge of a totally awesome blowout.  It's no wonder that I've taken to wearing one or two or as many clips as I can cram onto my head at a time.  Of course, collecting them is half the fun, especially when it means storing them in an era-appropriate Caboodle.  

Last weekend, for my nephew's trampoline park birthday party, I happily hauled out my rainbow-striped clip from SHEIN:

And although I stayed out of trouble -- and off the trampolines! -- I got to enjoy some '80s atmosphere in the form of a Care Bears claw machine and a larger-than-life Rubik's Cube tower.  As did the husband, who gamely posed next to the Rubik's Cubes.

Because you can't go wrong with kitsch and color and claws.  

Those '80s ladies were on to something.

Valentine's Day the Eclectic Way

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Sweet Stripes Necklace

Bag: Amazon; Polka dot bangle: B Fabulous; Love bangle: Boscov's; Blue bangle: So, Kohl's; Black and white bracelet: Mixit, JCPenney; Ring: Delia's

Top: Self Esteem, Macy's

Shoes: Betsey Johnson, DSW; Socks: Xhilaration, Target

Heart of Hearts Barrette Brooch

Dress: Ultra Flirt, Macy's

Beret: Dolls Kill

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Socks: Zulily

Bag: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill, Bangles: Mixit, JCPenney; Ring: Express

Top: Crave Fame, Macy's; Skirt: Tinseltown, Macy's

Cherry Topped Dots Necklace

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Modcloth; Rhinestone bangle: XOXO, Ross; Other bangle: B Fabulous Ring: Making Waves, Ocean City

Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's

Top: Zulily; Skirt: Vylette, Kohl's

Shoes: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Lollipop Love Necklace

Bag: Dolls Kill; Bangles: B Fabulous: Rhinestone bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Lips ring: Gifted; Rhinestone rings: Express

Top and skort: So, Kohl's

Bing-A-Bling Necklace

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Bangles: B Fabulous

It's almost Valentine's Day!  Which means hearts and flowers, in my hair and everywhere.  And also My Little Ponies.  Because I've been sitting on that beret for a year, and it was time to bust it out already.  At least that's what my pal Pinwheel said.  Pinwheel, by the way, is the pony.   

Considering my unbridled passion for fashion, I couldn't have picked a better mascot.